Apparatus for heating liquids



1937. a. A. RAWLINS APPARATUS FOR HEATING LIQUIDS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1lItIlvilllniillllirvalliivfi 7 G g +h r Raw HS Filed May 7, 19:56

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a. A. RAWLINS APPARATUS FOR HEATING LIQUIDS 2 SheetE -Sheet 2 Filed May'7', 1936 FIG.3.

George. (If Equal I YI 5 INVEN E,

Patented Aug. 24, 1937 UNITED STATES APPARATUS FOR HEATING LIQUIDSGeorge Arthur Rawlins, BurtonV-on-Trent, England, assignor to RobertMorton & Company, Limited, Burton-on-Trent, England Application May 7,1936, Serial No. 78,377 In Great Britain May 9, 1935 9 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for heating liquids, of the kindcomprising a vessel, means for heating liquid in said vessel, a hooddisposed within the vessel and above said heating means, the normallevel of the liquid in said vessel being intermediate the top and bottomof said hood, and a baffie or deflector mounted above an opening in thetop of the latter.

Apparatus of the above kind is usually employed for heating wort duringthe manufacture of beer, the present invention beingparticularlyconcerned with apparatus for this purpose.

The bailie or deflector aforesaid is intended to deflect the heatedliquid which passes upwardly through the hood and to direct it in theform of a spray over the surface of the liquid in the vessel. The hopswhich are added to the heated wort during the manufacture of beer aretreated in the above manner with a continuous shower of hot wort as theyfloat on the surface of the latter, and the completeness of the infusiondepends largely upon the effectiveness of this part of the apparatus.

In apparatus for the heating of wort as hitherto proposed, the baffle ordeflector comprises a somewhat concave plate which is supported abovethe neck of the hood so that the wort issuing from the latter isdeflected in a downward and outward direction on to the surface of thewort in the vessel itself.

It is found that a bafile or deflector so constructed has thedisadvantage that, in a case where the heating vessel is of largediameter, the spray of heated liquid discharged from the baffle ordeflector does not generally reach that part of the surface of theliquid which lies adjacent to the walls of the vessel with the resultthat some time elapses before the hops which lie on this part of thesurface are incorporated in the wort for the boiling operations. This isespecially the case where there is a relatively small depth of wort inthe heating vessel, or where the amount of evaporation required issmall.

The chief object of the present invention is to provide an improvedconstruction of apparatus in which the above disadvantage is obviated.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a part-sectional side elevation of one form of apparatusembodying the present in- 'vention.

Figure 2 is a vertical section, to an enlarged scale, of a part of theapparatus shown in Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a sectional side elevation of another form of apparatusembodying the invention.

In the construction illustrated in Figure 1, which is especiallysuitable for heating wort in the manufacture of beer, the apparatuscomprises a vessel or copper 5 which may be of circular section with asubstantially flat base it and is closed at the top by a domed cover 1.A heating element in the form of a plurality of vertically disposedsteam pipes 8, 8 is supported centrally of the base 6 in the lower partof the vessel 5, the steam inlet and outlet pipes 9 and II],respectively, extending through the base 6. There may be a single rankof steam pipes 8, 8 disposed in one plane, or the pipes may be arrangedin several ranks set radially of the vessel 5 as shown, or in any othersuitable manner. All the above parts may be substantially of knownconstruction.

Over the heater is mounted a hollow hood II having a lower cylindricalpart 2, a central conical part l3 and a substantially cylindrical neck I4, the hood being open at its upper and lower ends.

In operation, the liquid heated by the steam pipes 8, 8 passes upwardlythrough the hood H and is discharged from the neck [4 of the latteragainst the underside of a baffle or deflector I 5 which is mountedabove the hood I I.

This baffle or deflector I5 is essentially of inverted conical form, andis mounted with its periphery spaced above the upper end of the neck l4and with the apex of the cone projecting into the latter.

The walls of this conical baffle or deflector are preferably somewhatconcave between the apex and periphery thereof as shown in Figure 2:that is to say, the cross section of the cone forms a V whose sides arecurved inwardly.

The baille or deflector may be formed with a flat or domed upper surfaceIt, and itsdiameter may be somewhat greater than that of thecylindrical'neck M of the hood H to which it is rigidly attached.

In a convenient method of mounting the'bafile or deflector, airing l lis secured around the neck l4 adjacent the upper end thereof, this ringI? carrying upwardly extending columns which pass through the edge ofthe bafile or deflector l5. These columns may comprise studs l8, l8 andthe periphery of the baflle or'deflector may be engaged between nuts I8, l9 screwed thereon.

The battle or deflector [5 may be of solid construction, but preferablyit is formed by welding or otherwise securing together the peripheriesof two circular plates as shown, the upper being flat or domed and thelower of inverted conical form. Within the baffle or deflector may bearranged a cast metal or other spider which supports the upper plate andhas a plurality of radial arms 20, 20, the ends of which may be formedwith bosses 2|, 2| disposed adjacent the peripheries of the plates ahdprojecting therethrough. These bosses 2|, 21 may be drilled or otherwiseformed for attachment to the supporting studs I8, I8 or columnsaforesaid.

The upper end of the neck I4 on the hood II may be outwardly flared orotherwise of inverted conical form as at 22, its rim being ofsubstantially the same diameter as the bafile or deilector I5. Thearrangement preferably is such that the cross-sectional area of theannular passage 28 between the neck I4 and the baflle or defiector I5diminishes gradually towards'the pcriphery of the latter. The outwardlyextending portion of the neck I4 may be substantially parallel to themarginal portion of the baflie or deflector I5. I

The hot liquid which passes up through the neck I4 of the hood IIimpinges on the inverted conical underside of the baffle or deflector I5and is thus discharged in an upward and outward direction, the coned orflared upper end of the neck I4 assisting in this. The effect isenhancedby arranging the adjacent surfaces of the baffle and the neck in themanner above described, so'that the velocity of the liquid is increasedas it passes .between the converging walls of the annular passage 23.

If desired, means may be providedfor raising or lowering the baflle ordeflector I5 in relation to the neck I4 of the hood I I and thusincreasing or decreasing the cross-sectional area at the outlet end ofthe annular passage 23. Such adjustment is conveniently effected bymeans of the nuts,,I9, I9 on the supporting studs aforesaid.

The upward and outward direction of discharge causes the spray of hotliquid to be thrown :to a greater distance than is possible withtherconcave baflies hitherto employed, which merely deflect the liquiddownwardly. The improved baflie or deflector can thus be arranged todischarge hot liquid over the whole surface 24 of the liquid in thecopper or vessel 5, irrespective of the diameter of the latter. f

The upper cylindrical portion I4 which 'forms the neck of the hood I Imay be constructed: separately with respect to the lower conical:portion I3 of the latter, and it may be suitably flanged as at 25 forconnection thereto.

In order that the hood I I or the neck I4 there= of may be adjusted upand down 'tosuit different levels of the liquid in the copper orvessel-5, the baiiie or deflector f5 may be suspended by a chain orcable 26 attached to a ring or loop ll which is iormed or'provided onits upper surface I6; The lower portion I2 of the hood II whichsurrounds the heating element may be provided-internally with hingedclips such as 28 whichembrac'e'the adjacent steam pipes 8, 8 and may betightened to retain the hood II in its adjusted position.

The improved form of baffle or deflector hereinbefore described maybeemployed with equal advantage in connection withvessels which areheated externally instead of having an internal heating element. By wayof example,Figure 3 shows a fire-heated copper 29 having a domed base3!! above which is supported aconical hood or fountain 3I, the latterhaving a plurality of short legs 32, 32 at its periphery which rest onthe base 39 of the copper. The hood is formed with a cylindrical neck33- extending above the liquid level, abaffle or deflector 34 ofinvertedconical form being mounted over said neck. This baflie or deflector andthe upper part of the neck 33 which co-operates therewith may bearranged exactly as in the previous construction.

The invention may also be applied to coppers which are steam-jacketed atthe base, and in this case the base of the copper may be of dished form.

Furthermore, a hood and baffle constructed as above described may beused with fired or steamjacketed vessels which also have an internaltubular heating element arranged below the 1 hood.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for heating liquids comprising a vessel, means associatedwith said vessel for heating liquid therein, a hood disposed within saidvessel and above said heating means, the normal level of liquid in saidvessel being intermediate the top and bottom of said hood, an opencircular neck at the top of said hood, and a baiile or deflector ofinverted conical form mounted above said neck, the undersurface of saidbaffle having a continuous upward inclination fromits apex to itsperiphery so that liquid striking it is directed upwardly and outwardlyin the form of a spray which extends over the whole surface of theliquid in said vessel. 7

2. Apparatus for heating liquids comprising a essel for containingliquid, a hood disposed within said vessel and extending below thenormal level of the liquid therein, heating means below and partlywithin said hood, said hood being adjustably supported upon said heatingmeans, an open circular neck at the top of said hood, and a baiileordeflector of inverted conical form mounted above said neck, theundersurface of said baille having a continuous upward inclination fromits apex to its periphery so that liquid striking it is directedupwardly and outwardly in the form of a spray which extends over thewhole surface of the liquid in said vessel.

3. Apparatus for heating liquids comprising a vessel, vertical steampipes within said vessel for heating liquid therein, a hood disposedabove and around said steam pipes, the normal level'of liquid in saidvessel being intermediate the top and bottom of said hood, clamps onsaid hood engaging some of said steam pipes and adjustablelongitudinally thereof, an open circular neck at the top of said hood,and a battle or deflector of inverted conical form mounted above saidneck, the undersurface of said bafile having a continuous upwardinclination from its apex to its periphery so that liquid striking it isdirected upwardly and outwardly in the form of a spray which extendsover the whole surface of the liquid in said vessel.

4. Apparatus for heating liquids comprising a vessel, vertical steampipes within said vessel for heating liquid therein, a hood suspendedabove and extending around said steam pipes, means for varying theheight of said hood above said steam pipes, the normal level of liquidin said vessel being intermediate the top and bottom of said hood,clamps on said hood slidable longitudinally of said steam pipes andadapted to secure said hood in its adjusted position, an open circularneck at the top of said hood, and a baffle or deflector of invertedconical form mounted above said neck, the undersurface of said bafilehaving a continuous upward inclination from its apex to its periphery sothat liquid striking it is directed upwardly and outwardly in the formof a spray which extends over the whole surface of the liquid in saidvessel.

5. Apparatus for heating liquids comprising a vessel for containingliquid, heating means disposed within said vessel, a hood having a skirtsurrounding said heating means and depending below the normal level ofliquid in said vessel, an open circular neck at the top and a conicalportion connecting said skirt and neck, and a bafile or deflector ofinverted conical form mounted above said neck, the undersurface of saidbaflle having a continuous upward inclination from its apex to itsperiphery so that liquid striking it is directed upwardly and outwardlyin the form of a spray which extends over the whole surface of theliquid in said vessel.

6. Apparatus for heating liquids comprising a vessel, means associatedwith said vessel for heating liquid therein, a hood disposed within saidvessel and above said heating means, the normal level of liquid in saidvessel being intermediate the top and bottom of said hood, an opencircular neck at the top of said hood, a bafile or deflector of invertedconical form supported upon said neck, and means for varying the heightof said bafile above said neck, the undersurface of said baffle having acontinuous upward inclination from its apex to its periphery so thatliquid striking it is directed upwardly and outwardly in the form of aspray which extends over the whole surface of the liquid in said vessel.

7. Apparatus for heating liquids comprising a vessel, means associatedwith said vessel for heating liquid therein, ahood disposed within saidvessel and above said heating means, the normal level of liquid in saidvessel being intermediate the top and bottom of said hood, an opencircular neck at the top of said hood, a ring secured around said neck,screwed columns projecting upwardly from said ring, a baffle ordeflector of inverted conical form through which said columns pass, andnuts on said columns for adjustably securing said baflle thereon, theundersurface of said baffle having a continuous upward inclination fromits apex to its periphery so that liquid striking it is directedupwardly and outwardly in the form of a spray which extends over thewhole surface of the liquid in said vessel.

8. Apparatus for heating liquids comprising a vessel, means associatedwith said vessel for heating liquid therein, a hood disposed within saidvessel and above said heating means, the normal level of liquid in saidvessel being intermediate the top and bottom of said hood, an opencircular neck at the top of said hood, a bafile or deflector mountedabove said neck, said bafile including a bottom plate of invertedconical form and having its undersurface inclined continuously upwardsfrom its apex to its periphery, so that liquid striking it is directedupwardly and outwardly in the form of a spray which extends over thewhole surface of the liquid in said vessel, a top plate whose edges aresecured to those of said bottom plate, and a stiffening member betweensaid plates.

9. Apparatus for heating liquids comprising a vessel, means associatedwith said vessel for heating liquid" therein, a hood disposed withinsaid vessel and above said heating means, the normal level of liquid insaid vessel being intermediate the top and bottom of said hood, an opencircular neck at the top of said hood, the upper end of said neck beingin the form of an inverted cone,

and a baffle or deflector mounted above said neck

